| Re-painting of the cabin forward bulkhead was nearly complete in November 2006. | On 4th November 2006 Stuart was practicing his stencil skills on XD163's tail boom. | |
| By early December 2006 the canopy's removeable side panels were fitted, after re-glazing. | Mike Reading and Mike Jarvis were re-glazing the cockpit roof on 6th January 2007. | |
| The roof-mounted monorail (above left), after removal from XD163's cabin, was being cleaned, in January 2007, and prepared for re-painting. The monorail was intended to provide static line anchorages for up to six paratroops. Refurbishment of the two jump lights, green and red, and a klaxon, mounted above the cabin door (above right), was nearly finished. | ||
| In early February 2007 the restored ex-Navy winch was bolted to the fuselage, above the cabin door, and the hydraulics were connected. | On 17th February 2007 the left and right sliding windows were installed, initially with some difficulty due to slight distortion of the canopy. | |
| It was always thought that there was corrosion in the under-fuselage fuel pipe fairings, their fasteners and their rivets. This was confirmed when the fairings were examined more closely. | On 28th February 2007 work commenced on removal of the under-fairings and covers, which were all then treated for corrosion or completely replaced with locally manufactured replicas. | |
| Two of the fuel pipe cover panels were repaired, treated for corrosion and repainted by May 2007. | Meanwhile, on 9th June, the finishing touches were being applied to the cabin interior. | |
| On 9th June 2007 Stuart and Mike were replacing the newly painted under-fuselage fuel pipe fairings. | ||
| Restoration Index | ||
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